Hundreds of Pigs Stolen From Animal Farms in the US

October 28, 2011

Example: The official kept on pilfering the
public funds until it amounted to a huge sum.

2. isolated
(adj.) [ahy-suh-ley-tid, is-uh-] – being alone or separated from persons or other things

Example: Being isolated from modern
civilization, the remote village maintained their ancient traditions.

3. automated
(adj.)[aw-tuh-meyt] – controlled or driven by machines

Example: Automated factories do not require much
manual labor.

4. keep
track (idiom)[keep] [trak] – to be aware or to be kept informed

Example: He arrived late because he was not
able to keep track of the time

5. slaughterhouse
(n.) [slaw-ter-hous] – a place where animals are butchered for food

Example: Slaughterhouses should be kept clean
for health purposes.

Article

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Hundreds of pigs at farms in Minnesota and Iowa
were pilfered late September.
Authorities believe the "hognappers" are familiar with the
hog-raising business.

One of the farms belongs to Ryan Bode and his
family who raise a total of 4,000 hogs in one of their facilities. Bode's
staff noticed, after doing an inventory, that 150 hogs were missing, a number
worth $30,000.

According to Investigator Marc Chadderdon,
several factors work in the hognappers' favor.

First, hognappers strike farms in isolated areas where their vehicles
get hidden by tall corn fields, making them hardly noticeable.

Second, the largely automated farm needs fewer people on the site. This leaves
security quite loose. In addition, large operations with large numbers of
animals make it hard to keep track
of every animal.

Third, the pigs had no identifying marks. Bode
says putting earmarks or tattoos on each pig is additional work and that they
had no reason to do in the first place.

For pigs to be accepted at slaughterhouses, the seller must have paperwork. Chadderdon and
Bode therefore contend that the hognappers are well-connected in the
livestock raising business. Everyone involved in the transactions have to
know each other.

While investigations are ongoing, Chadderdon
advises pork producers to increase security by adding alarms, cameras, and
motion-sensing detectors. Moreover, farmers are advised to regularly count
their animals and check their facilities.